Flight Lieutenant Towkir Islam, the pilot of the Bangladesh Air Force jet that crashed into Milestone School and College in the capital鈥檚 Uttara area killing at least 31 people, including him, was laid to rest in Rajshahi Tuesday afternoon.
He was buried at the city鈥檚 Sapura Graveyard after his namaz-e-janaza at Muktijuddho Smriti Stadium in the city at about 4:30pm.
Senior officials from the Bangladesh Army, the Bangladesh Air Force, the police and local administration, as well as relatives and thousands of citizens, attended the namaz-e-janaza.
Before the funeral prayer, Towkir鈥檚 life and career were briefly recounted, followed by emotional remarks from his father Tahurul Islam and maternal uncle Matiur Rahman.
鈥業 am an unfortunate father, who had to carry his son鈥檚 body,鈥� Tahurul said and broke down in tears.
He requested to pray for his son and all other victims of the crash, including the children who died on the Milestone School campus.
Towkir鈥檚 body was flown from Dhaka to Rajshahi cantonment by a military helicopter. His body arrived at the cantonment at about 2:55pm.
Later, his body was taken to his family鈥檚 rented house in Sector 3 of Rajshahi鈥檚 Upashahar at about 3:20pm. The body was then taken to the stadium.
Towkir is the only son of businessman Tahurul Islam. The family is from Shibganj in Chapainawabganj and has been residing in Rajshahi city for the past 25 years.
He studied at Rajshahi Laboratory School before taking admission to Pabna Cadet College.
He passed his Secondary School Certificate examination in 2014 and Higher Secondary Certificate examination in 2016 and then joined the Bangladesh Air Force.
Towkir married a year ago, and his wife is a lecturer at a private university.
On Monday, during a solo flight, which is considered a milestone in a pilot鈥檚 training, Towkir鈥檚 aircraft crashed into the Milestone School and College in Dhaka.
